Tips On Growing Your Vegetable Garden

By Carrie Smith

Gardening means unusual things to different people. Many people vision gardening as a hobby, an exercise or a soothing get away from the pressures of city environment. For these people, the food produced may be just about secondary. Growing fresh vegetables, herbs, or fruits gives a great sense of happiness and accomplishment. A vegetable garden can also lessen the food budget of a family. One of the major reasons that people garden is that vegetables from the supermarket cannot compare in taste, class, or cleanness with vegetables grown in the home garden.

A number of veggies grow like weeds in definite temperature and others reduce in size or will just die and this is because of the different climate. Growing a vegetable garden depends on the weather situation. So, it is better to talk first to an expert in gardening before putting up your own home vegetable garden.

So, decide on what vegetable you want to cultivate in your garden. This is the first step. But, you should be aware that not all vegetables can grow suitably in your home. And this is because of the different weather, oddly deprived growing situations and the boundaries of space.

The second thing you should do is to create a plan in your garden. This includes the different vegetables you want to be there in your garden, the space amid the rows and the moment you plant your vegetables.

The third concern is soil. You do not need to have the perfect type of soil to grow an excellent garden. If possible the soil should be productive and easy to till, with just the right texture -- a loose, well-drained loam. Keep away from any soil that remains squelchy after a rain. Weighty clay and sandy soils can be improved by adding organic matter. Of course, gardening will be easier if you start with a naturally rich soil.

The fourth concern is water. The most efficient watering system is drip irrigation. It puts the water directly in the soil where it is needed and keeps the tops dry so there are less disease problems. There are also water timers available to take care of watering automatically.

Lastly, there should be good air drainage. Avoid positioning the garden in a low spot such as the bottom of a hill or the foot of a slope bounded by a solid barrier. These areas are slow to warm in the spring, and frost forms more readily in them because cold air cannot drain away. Vegetable gardens placed on elevated ground are more possibly to escape light freezes, permitting an earlier start in the spring and a longer crop in the fall. - 32616

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You Can Grow Vegetables Anywhere!

By Joan Williams

How much more fresh can your salad get. Fifteen minutes ago, these vegetables were in the ground growing. Now they have been picked, washed, chopped and are ready for you and your family to eat. You can't help but smile at the fact that you were able to create food. Useful skill and it certainly will help the pocketbook a little bit. Gardening has become a hobby and a way to make extra income. Plus, you are spending more time outside than you have in a long time.

Can anyone grow vegetables? Sure you can. The basic rules are the same, sunshine and water. But each living situation presents challenges unique to that locale. You can have a garden if you live in an apartment. It just presents different challenges than a huge backyard. If you live in the north, even though it is cold half of the year, you can still have a garden. You could even make money at your local farmer's market using the land on your hobby farm.

Apartment dwellers need to look at their balconies, and then from there, find out what is the best way to set up your garden. There are special growing containers you can purchase, or even make from containers you have around the house. A simple internet search can help you get everything set up. Just remember that you will be somewhat limited with what you can grow, as you won't be able to set up what is needed for root vegetables.

People who live further up north do have the ability to grow outside, but they can also take advantage of greenhouses. Just don't put greenhouses in the "northern climate only" category. Some areas get so hot, that the heat actually stops vegetables growing. Greenhouses can also be used to keep the temperature cool enough for vegetables to grow. Greenhouses are great to keep temperatures stable. That is the best way to describe them. Just remember, no matter what you decide to grow in your greenhouse, make sure you get the seeds that are made specifically for greenhouse growing.

Starting a hobby farm has regained popularity in recent years. For some people it is about avoiding the downside of urban living, while others may be thinking about making it a secondary, even primary source of income. A small family can easily run a small hobby farm with a couple of acres and a tractor. With a smaller farm, the harvest can be sold through the local farmer's market, thereby giving the farmer all of the profits.

All you need is water and a little sun, and soon you too can enter the world of growing vegetables. No matter where you are, if you get sun for a minimum of 6 hours on a piece of your land, you can start a garden. The best place to get information on what will be the best vegetables for you to grow is your local nursery. They can let you know what kind of special things you may need for the crops you are going to be growing.

Your local nurseries and gardening clubs will be able to provide you with all the information you will need to set up in your area. Don't be surprised if what you are able to grow is much more than you initially thought. - 32616

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Planning A Vegetable Garden

By Joan Williams

Vegetables that are picked on your own backyard are more delicious than those on the market. There is a certain gratification on eating vegetables that you yourself have planted. It is recommended that you should have a bigger and wider backyard if you're starting to have a vegetable garden. But if you don't have enough space, you can also plant your vegetables on your window boxes. Now, you and your family can enjoy the crops that you've planted.

Do your planning on advance if you want to have a vegetable garden. Planning can affect the success rate of your vegetables. There are different ways to plant your crops. First, the old fashion way where your plants are arrange in long and orderly rows. Having this kind of planting method can ruin the soil structure every time you walk between rows. Second, plant your crops in a bed method. With this kind of method, you can concentrate your compost in an area where you've planted your crops.

Bed usually ranges from 8 to 12 inches in height to improve the drainage system. This can help the soil stay warmer in colder weather. And finally, you can use the portager. Portager mixes flowers and herbs and vegetables together in one bed to create a functional and ascetic look.

And also location should be considered when planning for a garden. Plants need a lot of sunlight and needs open area to grow well. And vegetables need 8 long hours of sunlight each day to grow well. To economize your garden, you should grow your crops next to each other that mature at different time. So that your garden crops can have all the sunlight and space they want when needed.

Your location should have a good soil. Good soil is not easy to find. To check the nature of your soil, squeeze a handful of soil for moisture content. When it forms a clump then the soil is not good for gardening because it is too wet to work. In order to enhance your soil quality, you should use the right tillage and good organic and soil amendments.

This type of soil might form into hard cemented clumps. In order to enhance the quality of your soil at the same time increase your yield. You should use the correct tillage and good organic and soil amendments. Also, you should plant on ground level for ease in irrigating. Planting on a slope level can wash away your soil during irrigation. To solve this problem, put rows across the slopes. For vining crops like tomato, squash, cucumber and pole beans, plant them in a vertical manner. By using trellises, stakes, cages or other supports can minimize your spaced used and also maximize your work area.

Finally, make sure to plant enough crops for your family. When planting vegetables you should consider factors like disease resistance, maturity date, compactness of plant, and also the size, the shape, and the color of the vegetables. Also, gardening is a way to ease stress. So try to enjoy it. - 32616

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Raised Bed Gardening Methods: Water, Soil And More

By Jason Minor

Installed raised bed gardens are always fun to see, because their existence means that the fun part is about to begin: the actual raised bed gardening! This is what you've been waiting for, so go all out and fill in that blank space with beautiful living things.

Through careful watering, proper soil choice and monitoring its health for disease and weeds, you can keep your raised bed gardening fun and fast and leave your yard feeling proud about its gorgeous new addition.

Watch The pH Levels Of Your Soil

There are numerous soil packages available from every store under the Sun, but my personal favorite is a bit more down to earth. Try this simple recipe: mix one quarter yard soil with a solution of compost and sand. This unique combination will provide a great starting point for your bed. Also watch your pH levels. If they're too high, nothing will grow.

Keeping Weeds Down

Raised bed gardens typically get the better of weeds, but that's not to say that no one ever experiences the occasional weed here and there. Put in some organic mulch and use whatever weed guarding stuff you have in the house. If this doesn't get rid of your weed infestation, remove them by hand. It's simple and not really time consuming. Throw some more mulch over the top and see what happens overnight. Keep in mind this is an ongoing fight, so there will be victories and there will be losses.

Keep Watering

Manual watering is the way to go, making sure to hit the areas where your plants are inserted into the soil rather than the surrounding areas. If you feel extravagant, pick up an easy irrigation system with a drip technology that will keep your plants happy. Overhead watering is dangerous, as your plants can easily remain wet for too long and end up succumbing to disease. Water your plants decently, but don't hose them.

Simple To Maintain

Raised bed gardening is particularly attractive to busy people because they require precious little in the way of real maintenance. If yours is made of brick and mortar, go out and kick it every now and then to make sure it won't fall over, and that's about it. Make sure to water your plants and turn the soil over periodically. Add in a little organic material here and there.

If the garden starts to pick up disease, empty your garden immediately and put in brand new soil for your plants. On a physical level, if your bed is built from bricks, make sure you check to make sure it's still steady to prevent anything falling.

The low maintenance may be a strong factor in choosing raised bed gardening over other options, but let's face it: raised bed gardens look beautiful and can add a set piece to your yard that will start the neighbors talking. For such a small investment, how can it not be worth it? - 32616

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Useful Advices to Have Fun while Growing Your Own Vegetables

By Austin Okayne

Profitable as well as entertaining, growing your own vegetables is fun. You closely enjoy seasonal changes and feel closer to nature. Moreover, you will have your own healthy vegetables at hand whenever you need them. But a little background work is required before you decide upon growing your own veggies.

Which of your favorite vegetables would you like to grow? Find out which of your favorite vegetables are early, which are middle of the season and which are late kinds because you have to prepare the soil and make water arrangements accordingly.

Know your vegetables. Will your choice of vegetables grow well in shade or in sunshine? Do they need more water or less? Do the vegetables of your choice have any other characteristics that you can exploit to your advantage?

Maximize the use of your garden. Grow your vegetables in rows. Plant quick growing vegetables in between rows of slow growing crops to make most of your cultivating space.

Water - Plenty does it. You should remember that during dry periods, the vegetables you are growing will need extra watering. Then what you should keep in mind is that most vegetables will need an inch of water or more every week, and that this water is needed mostly when they are fructifying.

Take care of bug problems early. The earlier bugs are sought out and eradicated, the better. It is not healthy to spray insecticides once the vegetables are fully grown. To enforce environment-friendliness is a wise option. This would include recycling used up vegetable matter into the fertilizer for next season.

Keeping your garden safe Surrounding your garden with a close-woven and high fence is a great idea and a good investment too. You should also protect your hard work and the least you would want is for rabbits, dogs etc to destroy it. The cost of the fence will pay itself and will avoid that you see your hard work ruined by these animals, so do it and you won't need to worry about this problem again.

Your garden needs tending and protection in order for your vegetable garden to thrive. Learning gardening is a process like learning any art, so remember that it takes time also for vegetable gardening and that you should arm yourself with patience and dedication. - 32616

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Grow Garlic at Home

By Kor Rassad

Allium sativum, (more commonly known as Garlic) is a member of the onion family and can be grown very easily at home in your open garden, in a cold green house, in a pot or even a window box. Garlic will grow all year round in mild climates although in colder climates, like in the UK, planting Garlic is best around autumn so the plants will grow slowly throughout the winter frost and start to flower around spring. Garlic is a Perennial with long green flat leaves and white flowers.

Garlic is available in two varieties, hardneck (also known as 'top-setting') and softneck. Hardneck Garlic is well suited to growing in cold climates and the bulb produces one layer of cloves which is much larger than those of softneck. The cloves of hardneck garlic also have a stronger flavour and are easier to peel than softneck. However, they do not keep as long in storage. Softneck cloves last much longer in storage and are more readily available.

Planting your Garlic

Garlic seeds can be rare so it is more common to grow garlic from the bulb segments (cloves) which you can obtain from a specialist garden centre or even from your local supermarket. Before planting your garlic cloves you should prepare the soil by working in compost and make sure the area of your garden has good drainage as cold wet cloves will rot. To improve drainage you should consider constructing a raised bed to grow the garlic in. Since garlic has shallow roots you will only need a 5 inch high bed.

You should split the bulbs just before you intend to plant and discard any damaged or small cloves, and try to use the biggest clove as this will produce a bigger bulb. When planting the cloves it is better to use a planting drill because pushing the cloves into the ground may inhibit root development. In cold climates the cloves should be planted to a depth of 4 inches whilst milder climates will be fine with a depth of 2 inches.

Spacing is important to properly grow garlic; you should plant your cloves in a row setting them 6-8 inches apart for softneck and 4-6 inches apart for hardneck. If you plan on setting additional rows leave 12 inches between rows. After planting, water your crop thoroughly and mulch with leaves if available.

Care for your Garlic

Depending on the weather, after planting your crop in autumn you may not need to water again until Spring. From spring onwards you should water your crop regularly but don't over water or allow your crop to become soggy or else your bulbs will rot. If you applied mulch when planting your crop there should be few weeds. Be sure to check your mulch is not retaining moisture, if so reduce the mulch and cultivate the soil as needed to keep your crop free of weeds.

Harvesting your Garlic

You can expect to harvest your crop in late spring/early summer. A sign that your crop is ready for harvesting is when the leaves begin to turn yellow and bend over. When you see that a quarter of the leaves have dried up you should pick a couple of bulbs to check them. Ripe bulbs should have a firm skin and the inner cloves should be fully separated. Don't delay if your crop is ready - you should harvest right away. Use a garden fork to gently loosen the bulbs out of the soil.

After picking all your bulbs you need to cure your crop - this can be done in a greenhouse, shed or even a garage, and curing normally takes one to four weeks. Fully cured garlic plants will have a completely dry outer skin. Once your garlic is fully cured you should clip and gentle brush off any excess soil. When clipping leaves and you find any moisture then your bulbs have not fully cured.

You can store fully dried bulbs in baskets, string bags or sacks in a frost-free dark shed or garage. - 32616

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9 Home Hydroponics Advantages

By Charlie Jackson

Building a home hydroponics system has various advantages on top of traditional soil based methods. Capture a peek at the following advantages you acquire while using home hydroponics.

1. You don't need to water your plants! A key mistake that novice gardeners make is either over or under water their plants which can be hurtful to them! This dilemma is eliminated, as well as being a time saver!

2. Plant life grown by home hydroponics mature up to 50% quicker. This is for the reason that you are in full control of their setting which you will have manipulated to be optimum.

3. You don't need a garden to raise hydroponic plants, so if you dwell in a packed town centre apartment building then this is no barrier for you!

4. As there is no soil, no soil borne diseases are passed on to your plants. The result is much improved plants that you could advertise for revenue.

5. There is no necessity to use pesticides as there'll be no earth devoted vermin anyplace close to your plant life. This will cut down on cost and you'll have much better looking vegetation.

6. As soon as your home hydroponics arrangement is put up, you will save on average 20% on outlay owing to the decreased sum of maintenance needed.

7. Hydroponic plants take up less breathing space as the roots are smaller. This in spite of the plants being bigger on average! You will be able to fit extra into your growing trays which equals more profit or produce for you.

8. Maintenance time is to the highest degree reduced! No watering, no weeding and no pesticides. All you'll ever in fact have to do is select your fruit or vegetables once they're complete. Easy!

9. The crop is year round so you will always have a source of whatever you're growing. While it's off season, you could retail them for an improved yield margin!

I trust you've liked learning about the advantages of Home Hydroponics and why you really ought to give it a go! You must study more regarding growing Home Hydroponics plants and enjoy a novel and thrilling pastime! - 32616

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10 Hydroponic Fruit Advantages

By Charles Jackson

Here are some of the chief reasons why you should raise your own Hydroponic Fruit as opposed to using time-honored soil based techniques!

1. There is no requirement to water them! This will of course save you time, but as well over or under watering is one of the key mistakes that learner gardeners do which can be damaging to your plants.

2. Hydroponic fruit grows up to 50% quicker than customary soil grown fruitl This is for the reason that you will have totally manipulated the growing conditions to be optimum for whatever it is you're growing.

3. You don't need to possess a garden. So if you reside in the desert, the arctic or in a full town centre apartment block then this is no barrier.

4. No earth borne infection can be passed on if they are not being grown in earth.

5. No earth living vermin will be able to get in the vicinity of your fruit so you will retain greatly healthier looking foodstuffs! You will as well save cash on dear pesticides.

6. Upkeep time is intensely reduced. There is no necessity to water hydroponic fruit and there is no weeding. In fact all you'll really have to do is pick your fruit as soon as they are complete.

7. The yield is year round. You will always have access to all the fruit you need. As soon as it's off season, you will be able to trade your crop for an improved profit margin.

8. You can grow them wherever; basement, conservatory, garden, greenhouse, garage, window ledge, corridor or attic.

9. They will develop up to 40% better as they will always have access to all the nutrients they need. You will have made their growing setting to be ideal for them, they will adore it and will be healthier looking as a consequence.

10. You will be able to fit more into your growing trays as the roots don't grow as big. This is because they don't need to swell out to obtain nutrients as they are so readily accessible. - 32616

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